In a tragic incident, a 70-year-old American-Israeli educator was fatally shot during an early morning walk with her spouse at their kibbutz on October 7th, as confirmed by her local community this Thursday.
The educator, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and her husband, Gad Haggai, who also succumbed to injuries from the same attack, are currently in the custody of the group in Gaza.
Judi and Gad, both avid nature and sports lovers, were taking their usual morning walk in Kibbutz Nir Oz when the area experienced a heavy missile attack and an incursion at the border.
During the air-raid alert, Judi managed to send messages to her daughter through WhatsApp and reached out to emergency services, informing them about her critically injured husband.
Recounting the incident to the Magen David Adom emergency service, she said, “We were attacked by several armed motorcyclists. They shot at us, and we had to lie down. I was hit in the face and hand.”
Despite efforts to send an ambulance, it was intercepted by gunfire and subsequently set ablaze.
Judi, originally from New York and raised in Toronto, had been living in Israel for over forty years. A devoted mother of four and grandmother of seven, she had a long career teaching English in the Western Negev, often incorporating music, art, dance, and puppets into her lessons.
Upon meeting released individuals who had been held, Judi’s daughter learned they had not seen her mother in Gaza.
Her death was officially confirmed on Thursday.
Kibbutz Nir Oz released a statement honoring her, describing Judi as “a poet and an entrepreneur, passionate about creativity and dedicated to advocating for peace and friendship.”
